File No. 841.711/111
The British Ambassador (Spring Rice) to the Secretary of State
Memorandum
The British Ambassador presents his compliments to the Secretary of State, and has the honour to inform him that he duly communicated to the authorities in London the view held by the Department of State as to the necessity of a notification being made by His Majesty’s Government, in the event of the British postal authorities finding themselves obliged to suspend temporarily the despatch of mails received from the United States postal authorities.
From a telegram now received from the Foreign Office it is understood that the British Postmaster General on the 28th July, 1915, and on the 18th October, 1915, replied to communications on this subject received from the United States postal administration. As regards the question of notifying, under Article 1 of the detailed regulations for the execution of the postal convention, the intention of the British authorities to exercise a censorship in the case of mails passing through their hands, the British authorities are of opinion that the regulation in question cannot be held to be applicable to the case of the introduction of a censorship of this nature by a belligerent state.
[Received November 29.]